The Government
believes that its policies must lead to the
full, free and nondiscriminatory participation
of the Indian people in Canadian society. Such a
goal requires a break with the past. It requires
that the Indian people's role of dependence be
replaced by a role of equal status, opportunity
and responsibility, a role they can share with
all other Canadians.
This proposal
is a recognition of the necessity made plain in
a year's intensive discussions with Indian
people throughout Canada. The Government
believes that to continue its past course of
action would not serve the interests of either
the Indian people or their fellow Canadians.
The policies
proposed recognize the simple reality that the
separate legal status of Indians and the
policies which have flowed from it have kept the
Indian people apart from and behind other
Canadians. The Indian people have not been full
citizens of the communities and provinces in
which they live and have not enjoyed the
equality and benefits that such participation
offers.
The treatment
resulting from their different status has been
often worse, sometimes equal and occasionally
better than that accorded to their fellow
citizens. What matters is that it has been
different.
Many Indians,
both in isolated communities and in cities,
suffer from poverty. The discrimination which
affects the poor, Indian and non-Indian alike,
when compounded with a legal status that sets
the Indian apart, provides dangerously fertile
ground for social and cultural discrimination.
In recent
years there has been a rapid increase in the
Indian population. Their health and education
levels have improved. There has been a
corresponding rise in expectations that the
structure of separate treatment cannot meet.
A forceful and
articulate Indian leadership has developed to
express the aspirations and needs of the Indian
community. Given the opportunity, the Indian
people can realize an immense human and cultural
potential that will enhance their own
wellbeing, that of the regions in which they
live and of Canada as a whole. Faced with a
continuation of past policies, they will unite
only in a common frustration.
The Government
does not wish to perpetuate policies which carry
with them the seeds of disharmony and disunity,
policies which prevent Canadians from fulfilling
themselves and contributing to their society. It
seeks a partnership to achieve a better goal.
The partners in this search are the Indian
people, the governments of the provinces, the
Canadian community as a whole and the Government
of Canada. As all partnerships do, this will
require consultation, negotiation, give and
take, and co-operation if it is to succeed.
Many years
will be needed. Some efforts may fail, but
learning comes from failure and from what is
learned success may follow. All the partners
have to learn; all will have to change many
attitudes.
Governments
can set examples, but they cannot change the
hearts of men. Canadians, Indians and
non-Indians alike stand at the crossroads. For
Canadian society the issue is whether a growing
element of its population will become full
participants contributing in a positive way to
the general wellbeing or whether, conversely,
the present social and economic gap will lead to
their increasing frustration and isolation, a
threat to the general well-being of society. For
many Indian people, one road does exist, the
only road that has existed since Confederation
and before, the road of different status, a road
which has led to a blind alley of deprivation
and frustration. This road, because it is a
separate road, cannot lead to full
participation, to equality in practice as well
as in theory. In the pages which follow, the
Government has outlined a number of measures and
a policy which it is convinced will offer
another road for Indians, a road that would lead
gradually away from different status to full
social, economic and political participation in
Canadian life. This is the choice.
Indian people
must be persuaded, must persuade themselves,
that this path wm lead them to a fuller and
richer life.
Canadian
society as a whole will have to recognize the
need for changed attitudes and a truly open
society. Canadians should recognize the dangers
of failing to strike down the barriers which
frustrate Indian people. If Indian people are to
become full members of Canadian society they
must be warmly welcomed by that society.
The Government
commends this policy for the consideration of
all Canadians, Indians and non-Indians, and all
governments in Canada.
The Government
has reviewed its programs for Indians and has
considered the effects of them on the present
situation of the Indian people. The review has
drawn on extensive consultations with the Indian
people, and on the knowledge and experience of
many people both in and out of government.
This review
was a response to things said by the Indian
people at the consultation meetings which began
a year ago and culminated in a meeting in Ottawa
in April.
This review
has shown that this is the right time to change
long-standing policies. The Indian people have
shown their determination that present
conditions shall not persist.
Opportunities
are present today in Canadian society and new
directions are open. The Government believes
that Indian people must not be shut out of
Canadian life and must share equally in these
opportunities.
The Government
could press on with the policy of fostering
further education; could go ahead with physical
improvement programs now operating in reserve
communities; could press forward in the
directions of recent years, and eventually many
of the problems would be solved. But progress
would be too slow. The change in Canadian
society in recent years has been too great and
continues too rapidly for this to be the answer.
Something more is needed. We can no longer
perpetuate the separation of Canadians. Now is
the time to change.
This
Government believes in equality. It believes
that all men and women have equal rights. It is
determined that all shall be treated fairly and
that no one shall be shut out of Canadian life,
and especially that no one shall be shut out
because of his race.
This belief is
the basis for the Government's determination to
open the doors of opportunity to all Canadians,
to remove the barriers which impede the
development of people, of regions and of the
country.
Only a policy
based on this belief can enable the Indian
people to realize their needs and aspirations.
The Indian
people are entitled to such a policy. They are
entitled to an equality which preserves and
enriches Indian identity and distinction; an
equality which stresses Indian participation in
its creation and which manifests itself in all
aspects of Indian life.
The goals of
the Indian people cannot be set by others; they
must spring from the Indian community itself -
but government can create a framework within
which all persons and groups can seek their own
goals.
True equality
presupposes that the Indian people have the
right to full and equal participation in the
cultural, social, economic and political life of
Canada.
The government
believes that the framework within which
individual Indians and bands could achieve full
participation requires:
-
that the
legislative and constitutional bases of
discrimination be removed;
-
that there
be positive recognition by everyone of the
unique contribution of Indian culture to
Canadian life;
-
that
services come through the same channels and
from the same government agencies for all
Canadians;
-
that those
who are furthest behind be helped most;
-
that
lawful obligations be recognized;
-
that
control of Indian lands be transferred to
the Indian people.
The
Government would be prepared to take the
following steps to create this framework:
-
Propose to
Parliament that the Indian Act be repealed
and take such legislative steps as may be
necessary to enable Indians to control
Indian lands and to acquire title to them.
-
Propose to
the governments of the provinces that they
take over the same responsibility for
Indians that they have for other citizens in
their provinces. The take-over would be
accompanied by the transfer to the provinces
of federal funds normally provided for
Indian programs, augmented as may be
necessary.
-
Make
substantial funds available for Indian
economic development as an interim measure.
-
Wind up
that part of the Department of Indian
Affairs and Northern Development which deals
with Indian Affairs. The residual
responsibilities of the Federal Government
for programs in the field of Indian affairs
would be transferred to other appropriate
federal departments.
In addition,
the Government will appoint a Commissioner to
consult with the Indians and to study and
recommend acceptable procedures for the
adjudication of claims.
The new policy
looks to a better future for all Indian people
wherever they may be. The measures for
implementation are straightforward. They require
discussion, consultation and negotiation with
the Indian people - individuals, bands and
associations and with provincial governments.
Success will
depend upon the co-operation and assistance of
the Indians and the provinces. The Government
seeks this cooperation and will respond when it
is offered.
Some changes
could take place quickly. Others would take
longer. It is expected that within five years
the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern
Development would cease to operate in the field
of Indian affairs; the new laws would be in
effect and existing programs would have been
devolved. The Indian lands would require special
attention for some time. The process of
transferring control to the Indian people would
be under continuous review.
The Government
believes this is a policy which is just and
necessary. It can only be successful if it has
the support of the Indian people, the provinces,
and all Canadians.
The policy
promises all Indian people a new opportunity to
expand and develop their identity within the
framework of a Canadian society which offers
them the rewards and responsibilities of
participation, the benefits of involvement and
the pride of belonging.
The weight of
history affects us all, but it presses most
heavily on the Indian people. Because of
history, Indians today are the subject of legal
discrimination; they have grievances because of
past undertakings that have been broken or
misunderstood; they do not have full control of
their lands; and a higher proportion of Indians
than other Canadians suffer poverty in all its
debilitating forms. Because of history too,
Indians look to a special department of the
Federal Government for many of the services that
other Canadians get from provincial or local
governments.
This burden of
separation has its origin deep in Canada's past
and in early French and British colonial policy.
The elements which grew to weigh so heavily were
deeply entrenched at the time of Confederation.
Before that
time there had evolved a policy of entering into
agreements with the Indians, of encouraging them
to settle on reserves held by the Crown for
their use and benefit, and of dealing with
Indian lands through a separate organization a
policy of treating Indian people as a race
apart.
After
Confederation, these well-established precedents
were followed and expanded. Exclusive
legislative authority was given the Parliament
of Canada in relation to "Indians, and Lands
reserved for the Indians" under Head 24 of
Section 91 of the British North America Act.
Special legislation - an Indian Act - was
passed, new treaties were entered into, and a
network of administrative offices spread across
the country either in advance of or along with
the tide of settlement.
This system -
special legislation, a special land system and
separate administration for the Indian people -
continues to be the basis of present Indian
policy. It has saved for the Indian people
places they can call home, but has carried with
it serious human and physical as well as
administrative disabilities.
Because the
system was in the hands of the Federal
Government, the Indians did not participate in
the growth of provincial and local services.
They were not required to participate in the
development of their own communities which were
tax exempt. The result was that the Indians
persuaded that property taxes were an
unnecessary element in their lives, did not
develop services for themselves. For many years
such simple and limited services as were
required to sustain life were provided through a
network of Indian agencies reflecting the
authoritarian tradition of a colonial
administration, and until recently these
agencies had staff and funds to do little more
than meet the most severe cases of hardship and
distress.
The tradition
of federal responsibility for Indian matters
inhibited the development of a proper
relationship between the provinces and the
Indian people as citizens. Most provinces, faced
with their own problems of growth and change,
left responsibility for their Indian residents
to the Federal Government. Indeed, successive
Federal Governments did little to change the
pattern. The result was that Indians were the
almost exclusive concern of one agency of the
Federal Government for nearly a century.
For a long
time the problems of physical, legal and
administrative separation attracted little
attention. The Indian people were scattered in
small groups across the country, often in remote
areas. When they were in contact with the new
settlers, there was little difference between
the living standards of the two groups.
Initially,
settlers as well as Indians depended on game,
fish and fur. The settlers, however, were more
concerned with clearing land and establishing
themselves and differences soon began to appear.
With the
technological change of the twentieth century,
society became increasingly industrial and
complex, and the separateness of the Indian
people became more evident. Most Canadians moved
to the growing cities, but the Indians remained
largely a rural people, lacking both education
and opportunity. The land was being developed
rapidly, but many reserves were located in
places where little development was possible.
Reserves were usually excluded from development
and many began to stand out as islands of
poverty. The policy of separation had become a
burden.
The legal and
administrative discrimination in the treatment
of Indian people has not given them an equal
chance of success. It has exposed them to
discrimination in the broadest and worst sense
of the term a discrimination that has
profoundly affected their confidence that
success can be theirs. Discrimination breeds
discrimination by example, and the separateness
of Indian people has affected the attitudes of
other Canadians towards them.
The system of
separate legislation and administration has also
separated people of Indian ancestry into three
groups - registered Indians, who are further
divided into those who are under treaty and
those who are not; enfranchised Indians who
lost, or voluntarily relinquished, their legal
status as Indians; and the Métis, who are of
Indian ancestry but never had the status of
registered Indians.
In the past
ten years or so, there have been important
improvements in education, health, housing,
welfare and community development. Developments
in leadership among the Indian communities have
become increasingly evident. Indian people have
begun to forge a new unity. The Government
believes progress can come from these
developments but only if they are met by new
responses. The proposed policy is a new
response.
The policy
rests upon the fundamental right of Indian
people to full and equal participation in the
cultural, social, economic and political life of
Canada.
To argue
against this right is to argue for
discrimination, isolation and separation.
No Canadian should be excluded from
participation in community life, and none should
expect to withdraw and still enjoy the benefits
that flow to those who participate.
Legislative and constitutional bases of
discrimination must be removed.
Canada cannot
seek the just society and keep discriminatory
legislation on its statute books. The Government
believes this to be self-evident. The ultimate
aim of removing the specific references to
Indians from the constitution may take some
time, but it is a goal to be kept constantly in
view. In the meantime, barriers created by
special legislation can generally be struck
down.
Under the
authority of Head 24, Section 91 of the British
North America Act, the Parliament of Canada has
enacted the Indian Act. Various
federal-provincial agreements and some other
statutes also affect Indian policies.
In the long
term, removal of the reference in the
constitution would be necessary to end the legal
distinction between Indians and other Canadians.
In the short term, repeal of the Indian Act and
enactment of transitional legislation to ensure
the orderly management of Indian land would do
much to mitigate the problem.
The ultimate
goal could not be achieved quickly, for it
requires a change in the economic circumstances
of the Indian people and much preliminary
adjustment with provincial authorities. Until
the Indian people are satisfied that their land
holdings are solely within their control, there
may have to be some special legislation for
Indian lands.
here must
be positive recognition by everyone of the
unique contribution of Indian culture to
Canadian society.
It is
important that Canadians recognize and give
credit to the Indian contribution. It manifests
itself in many ways; yet it goes largely
unrecognized and unacknowledged. Without
recognition by others it is not easy to be
proud.
All of us seek
a basis for pride in our own lives, in those of
our families and of our ancestors. Man needs
such pride to sustain him in the inevitable hour
of discouragement, in the moment when he faces
obstacles, whenever life seems turned against
him. Everyone has such moments. We manifest our
pride in many ways, but always it supports and
sustains us. The legitimate pride of the Indian
people has been crushed too many times by too
many of their fellow Canadians.
The principle of equality and all that goes with
it demands that all of us recognize each other's
cultural heritage as a source of personal
strength.
Canada has
changed greatly since the first Indian Act was
passed. Today it is made up of many people with
many cultures. Each has its own manner of
relating to the other; each makes its own
adjustments to the larger society.
Successful
adjustment requires that the larger groups
accept every group with its distinctive traits
without prejudice, and that all groups share
equitably in the material and non-material
wealth of the country.
For many years
Canadians believed the Indian people had but two
choices: they could live in a reserve community,
or they could be assimilated and lose their
Indian identity. Today Canada has more to offer.
There is a third choice - a full role in
Canadian society and in the economy while
retaining, strengthening and developing an
Indian identity which preserves the good things
of the past and helps Indian people to prosper
and thrive.
This choice
offers great hope for the Indian people. It
offers great opportunity for Canadians to
demonstrate that in our open society there is
room for the development of people who preserve
their different cultures and take pride in their
diversity.
This new
opportunity to enrich Canadian life is central
to the Government's new policy. If the policy is
to be successful, the Indian people must be in a
position to play a full role in Canada's
diversified society, a role which stresses the
value of their experience and the possibilities
of the future.
The Indian
contribution to North American society is often
overlooked, even by the Indian people
themselves. Their history and tradition can be a
rich source of pride, but are not sufficiently
known and recognized. Too often, the art forms
which express the past are preserved, but are
inaccessible to most Indian people. This
richness can be shared by all Canadians. Indian
people must be helped to become aware of their
history and heritage in all its forms, and this
heritage must be brought before all Canadians in
all its rich diversity.
Indian culture
also lives through Indian speech and thought.
The Indian languages are unique and valuable
assets. Recognizing their value is not a matter
of preserving ancient ways as fossils, but of
ensuring the continuity of a people by
encouraging and assisting them to work at the
continuing development of their inheritance in
the context of the present-day world. Culture
lives and develops in the daily life of people,
in their communities and in their other
associations, and the Indian culture can be
preserved, perpetuated and developed only by the
Indian people themselves.
The Indian
people have often been made to feel that their
culture and history are not worthwhile. To lose
a sense of worthiness is damaging. Success in
life, in adapting to change, and in developing
appropriate relations within the community as
well as in relation to a wider world, requires a
strong sense of personal worth - a real sense of
identity.
Rich in
folklore, in art forms and in concepts of
community life, the Indian cultural heritage can
grow and expand further to enrich the general
society. Such a development is essential if the
Indian people are again to establish a
meaningful sense of identity and purpose and if
Canada is to realize its maximum potential.
The Government
recognizes that people of Indian ancestry must
be helped in new ways in this task. It proposes,
through the Secretary of State, to support
associations and groups in developing a greater
appreciation of their cultural heritage. It
wants to foster adequate communication among all
people of Indian descent and between them and
the Canadian community as a whole.
Steps will be
taken to enlist the support of Canadians
generally. The provincial governments will be
approached to support this goal through their
many agencies operating in the field Provincial
educational authorities will be urged to
intensify their review of school curriculae and
course content with a view to ensuring that they
adequately reflect Indian culture and Indian
contributions to Canadian development.
Services
must; come through the same channels and from
the same government agencies for all Canadians.
This is an
undeniable part of equality. It has been shown
many times that separation of people follows
from separate services. There can be no argument
about the principle of common services. It is
right.
It cannot be
accepted now that Indians should be
constitutionally excluded from the right to be
treated within their province as full and equal
citizens, with all the responsibilities and all
the privileges that this might entail. It is in
the provincial sphere where social remedies are
structured and applied, and the Indian people,
by and large, have been non-participating
members of provincial society.
Canadians
receive a wide range of services through
provincial and local governments, but the Indian
people and their communities are mostly outside
that framework. It is no longer acceptable that
the Indian people should be outside and apart.
The Government believes that services should be
available on an equitable basis, except for
temporary differentiation based on need.
Services ought not to flow from separate
agencies established to serve particular groups,
especially not to groups that are identified
ethnically.
Separate but
equal services do not provide truly equal
treatment. Treatment has not been equal in the
case of Indians and their communities. Many
services require a wide range of facilities
which cannot be duplicated by separate agencies.
Others must be integral to the complex systems
of community and regional life and cannot be
matched on a small scale.
The Government
is therefore convinced that the traditional
method of providing separate services to Indians
must be ended. All Indians should have access to
all programs and services of all levels of
government equally with other Canadians.
The Government
proposes to negotiate with the provinces and
conclude agreements under which Indian people
would participate in and be served by the full
programs of the provincial and local systems.
Equitable financial arrangements would be sought
to ensure that services could be provided in
full measure commensurate with the needs. The
negotiations must seek agreements to end
discrimination while ensuring that no harm is
inadvertently done to Indian interests. The
Government further proposes that federal
disbursements for Indian programs in each
province be transferred to that province.
Subject to negotiations with the provinces, such
provisions would as a matter of principle
eventually decline, the provinces ultimately
assuming the same responsibility for services to
Indian residents as they do for services to
others.
At the same
time, the Government proposes to transfer all
remaining federal responsibilities for Indians
from the Department of Indian Affairs and
Northern Development to other departments,
including the Departments of Regional Economic
Expansion, Secretary of State, and Manpower and
Immigration.
It is
important that such transfers take place without
disrupting services and that special
arrangements not be compromised while they are
subject to consultation and negotiation. The
Government will pay particular attention to
this.
Those who
are furthest behind must be helped most.
There can be
little argument that conditions for many Indian
people are not satisfactory to them and are not
acceptable to others. There can be little
question that special services, and especially
enriched services, will be needed for some time.
Equality
before the law and in programs and services does
not necessarily result in equality in social and
economic conditions. For that reason, existing
programs will be reviewed. The Department of
Regional Economic Expansion, the Department of
Manpower and Immigration, and other federal
departments involved would be prepared to evolve
programs that would help break past patterns of
deprivation.
Additional
funds would be available from a number of
different sources. In an atmosphere of greater
freedom, those who are able to do so would be
expected to help themselves, so more funds would
be available to help those who really need it.
The transfer of Indian lands to Indian control
should enable many individuals and groups to
move ahead on their own initiative. This in turn
would free funds for further enrichment of
programs to help those who are furthest behind.
By ending some programs and replacing them with
others evolved within the community, a more
effective use of funds would be achieved.
Administrative savings would result from the
elimination of separate agencies as various
levels of government bring general programs and
resources to bear. By broadening the base of
service agencies, this enrichment could be
extended to all who need it. By involving more
agencies working at different levels, and by
providing those agencies with the means to make
them more effective, the Government believes
that root problems could be attacked, that
solutions could be found that hitherto evaded
the best efforts and best-directed of programs.
The economic
base for many Indians is their reserve land, but
the development of reserves has lagged.
Among the many
factors that determine economic growth of
reserves, their location and size are
particularly important. There are a number of
reserves located within or near growing
industrial areas which could provide substantial
employment and income to their owners if they
were properly developed. There are other
reserves in agricultural areas which could
provide a livelihood for a larger number of
family units than is presently the case. The
majority of the reserves, however, are located
in the boreal or wooded regions of Canada, most
of them geographically isolated and many having
little economic potential. In these areas, low
income, unemployment and under-employment are
characteristic of Indians and non-Indians alike.
Even where
reserves have economic potential, the Indians
have been handicapped. Private investors have
been reluctant to supply capital for projects on
land which cannot be pledged as security.
Adequate social and risk capital has not been
available from public sources. Most Indians have
not had the opportunity to acquire managerial
experience, nor have they been offered
sufficient technical assistance.
The Government
believes that the Indian people should have the
opportunity to develop the resources of their
reserves so they may contribute to their own
well-being and the economy of the nation. To
develop Indian reserves to the level of the
regions in which they are located will require
considerable capital over a period of some
years, as well as the provision of managerial
and technical advice. Thus the Government
believes that all programs and advisory services
of the federal and provincial governments should
be made readily available to Indians.
In addition,
and as an interim measure, the Government
proposes to make substantial additional funds
available for investment in the economic
progress of the Indian people. This would
overcome the barriers to early development of
Indian lands and resources, help bring Indians
into a closer working relationship with the
business community, help finance their
adjustment to new employment opportunities, and
facilitate access to normal financial sources.
Even if the
resources of Indian reserves are fully utilized,
however, they cannot all properly support their
present Indian populations, much less the
populations of the future. Many Indians will, as
they are now doing, seek employment elsewhere as
a means of solving their economic problems. Jobs
are vital and the Government intends that the
full counselling, occupational training and
placement resources of the Department of
Manpower and Immigration are used to further
employment opportunities for Indians. The
government will encourage private employers to
provide opportunities for the Indian people.
In many
situations, the problems of Indians are similar
to those faced by their non-Indian neighbours.
Solutions to their problems cannot be found in
isolation but must be sought within the context
of regional development plans involving all the
people. The consequence of an integrated
regional approach is that all levels of
government federal, provincial and local - and
the people themselves are involved. Helping
overcome regional disparities in the economic
well-being of Canadians is the main task
assigned to the Department of Regional Economic
Expansion. The Government believes that the
needs of Indian communities should be met within
this framework.
Lawful
obligations must be recognized
Many of the
Indian people feel that successive governments
have not dealt with them as fairly as they
should. They believe that lands have been taken
from them in an improper manner, or without
adequate compensation, that their funds have
been improperly administered, that their treaty
rights have been breached. Their sense of
grievance influences their relations with
governments and the community and limits their
participation in Canadian life.
Many Indians
look upon their treaties as the source of their
rights to land, to hunting and fishing
privileges, and to other benefits. Some believe
the treaties should be interpreted to encompass
wider services and privileges, and many believe
the treaties have not been honoured. Whether or
not this is correct in some or many cases, the
fact is the treaties affect only half the
Indians of Canada. Most of the Indians of
Quebec, British Columbia, and the Yukon are not
parties to a treaty.
The terms and
effects of the treaties between the Indian
people and the Government are widely
misunderstood. A plain reading of the words used
in the treaties reveals the limited and minimal
promises which were included in them. As a
result of the treaties, some Indians were given
an initial cash payment and were promised land
reserved for their exclusive use, annuities,
protection of hunting, fishing and trapping
privileges subject (in most cases) to
regulation, a school or teachers in most
instances and, in one treaty only, a medicine
chest.
There were
some other minor considerations, such as the
annual provision of twine and ammunition.
The annuities
have been paid regularly. The basic promise to
set aside reserve land has been kept except in
respect of the Indians of the Northwest
Territories and a few bands in the northern
parts of the Prairie Provinces. These Indians
did not choose land when treaties were signed.
The government wishes to see these obligations
dealt with as soon as possible.
The right to
hunt and fish for food is extended unevenly
across the country and not always in relation to
need. Although game and fish will become less
and less important for survival as the pattern
of Indian life continues to change, there are
those who, at this time, still live in the
traditional manner that their forefathers lived
in when they entered into treaty with the
government. The Government is prepared to allow
such persons transitional freer hunting of
migratory birds under the Migratory Birds
Convention Act and Regulations.
The
significance of the treaties in meeting the
economic, educational, health and welfare needs
of the Indian people has always been limited and
will continue to decline. The services that have
been provided go far beyond what could have been
foreseen by those who signed the treaties.
The Government
and the Indian people must reach a common
understanding of the future role of the
treaties. Some provisions will be found to have
been discharged; others will have continuing
importance. Many of the provisions and practices
of another century may be considered irrelevant
the light of a rapidly changing society and
still others may be ended by mutual agreement.
Finally, once Indian lands are securely within
Indian control, the anomaly of treaties between
groups within society and the government of that
society will require that these treaties be
reviewed to - how they can be equitably ended.
Other
grievances have been asserted in more general
terms. It is possible that some of these can be
verified by appropriate research and may be
susceptible of specific remedies. Others relate
to aboriginal claims to land. These are so
general and undefined it is not realistic to
think of them as specific claims capable of
remedy except through a policy and program that
will end injustice to Indians as members of the
Canadian community. This is the policy that the
Government is proposing for discussion.
At the recent
consultation meeting in Ottawa representatives
of the Indians, chosen at each of the earlier
regional meetings, expressed concern about the
extent of their knowledge of Indian rights and
treaties. They indicated a desire to undertake
further research to establish their rights with
greater precision, elected a National Committee
on Indian Rights and Treaties for this purpose
and sought government financial support for
research.
The Government
had intended to introduce legislation to
establish an Indian Claims Commission to hear
and determine Indian claims. Consideration of
the questions raised at the consultations and
the review of Indian policy have raised serious
doubts as to whether a Claims Commission as
proposed to Parliament in 1965 is the right way
to deal with the grievances of Indians put
forward as claims.
The Government
has concluded that further study and research
are required by both the Indians and the
Government. It will appoint a Commissioner who,
in consultation with representatives of the
Indians, will inquire into and report upon how
claims arising in respect of the performance of
the terms of treaties and agreements formally
entered into by representatives of the Indians
and the Crown, and the administration of moneys
and lands pursuant to schemes established by
legislation for the benefit of Indians may be
adjudicated.
The
Commissioner will also classify the claims that
in his judgment ought to be referred to the
courts or any special quasijudicial body that
may be recommended.
It is expected
that the Commissioner's inquiry will go on
concurrently with that of the National Indian
Committee on Indian Rights and Treaties and the
Commissioner will be authorized to recommend
appropriate support to the Committee so that it
may conduct research on the Indians' behalf and
assist the Commissioner in his inquiry.
Control of
Indian lands should be transferred to the Indian
people.
Frustration is
as great a handicap as a sense of grievance.
True co-operation and participation can come
only when the Indian people are controlling the
land which makes up the reserves.
The reserve
system has provided the Indian people with lands
that generally have been protected against
alienation without their consent. Widely
scattered across Canada, the reserves total
nearly 6,000,000 acres and are divided into
about 2,200 parcels of varying sizes. Under the
existing system, title to reserve lands is held
either by the Crown in right of Canada or the
Crown in right of one of the provinces.
Administrative control and legislative authority
are, however, vested exclusively in the
Government and the Parliament of Canada. It is a
trust. As long as this trust exists, the
Government, as a trustee, must supervise the
business connected with the land.
The result of
Crown ownership and the Indian Act has been to
tie the Indian people to a land system that
lacks flexibility and inhibits development. If
an Indian band wishes to gain income by leasing
its land, it has to do so through a cumbersome
system involving the Government as trustee. It
cannot mortgage reserve land to finance
development on its own initiative. Indian people
do not have control of their lands except as the
Government allows and this is no longer
acceptable to them. The Indians have made this
clear at the consultation meetings. They now
want real control, and this Government believes
that they should have it. The Government
recognizes that full and true equality calls for
Indian control and ownership of reserve land.
Between the
present system and the full holding of title in
fee simple lie a number of intermediate states.
The first step is to change the system under
which ministerial decision is required for all
that is done with Indian land. This is where the
delays, the frustrations and the obstructions
lie. The Indians must control their land.
This can be done in many ways. The Government
believes that each band must make its own
decision as to the way it wants to take control
of its land and the manner in which it intends
to manage it. It will take some years to
complete the process of devolution.
The Government
believes that full ownership implies many
things. It carries with it the free choice of
use, of retention or of disposition. In our
society it also carries with it an obligation to
pay for certain services. The Government
recognizes that it may not be acceptable to put
all lands into the provincial systems
immediately and make them subject to taxes. When
the Indian people see that the only way they can
own and fully control land is to accept taxation
the way other Canadians do, they will make that
decision.
Alternative
methods for the control of their lands will be
made available to Indian individuals and bands.
Whatever methods of land control are chosen by
the Indian people, the present system under
which the Government must execute all leases,
supervise and control procedures and surrenders,
and generally act as trustee, must be brought to
an end. But the Indian land heritage should be
protected. Land should be alienated from them
only by the consent of the Indian people
themselves. Under a proposed Indian Lands Act
full management would be in the hands of the
bands and, if the bands wish, they or
individuals would be able to take title to their
land without restrictions.
As long as the
Crown controls the land for the benefit of bands
who use and occupy it, it is responsible for
determining who may, as a member of a band,
share in the assets of band land. The
qualifications for band membership which it has
imposed are part of the legislation - the Indian
Act governing the administration of reserve
lands. Under the present Act, the Government
applies and interprets these qualifications.
When bands take title to their lands, they will
be able to define and apply these qualifications
themselves.
The Government
is prepared to transfer to the Indian people the
reserve lands, full control over them and,
subject to the proposed Indian Lands Act, the
right to determine who shares in ownership. The
Government proposes to seek agreements with the
bands and, where necessary, with the governments
of the provinces. Discussions will be initiated
with the Indian people and the provinces to this
end.
